Taken to Task
by darke wulf
Summary: Written for heeroluva for her winning bid for the Australian Flood Relief auction over at WaltzMatildah. She asked for a Bruce/Tony fic with Bruce confronting Tony about his bad behavior during Iron Man 2.


**Taken to Task**

by: darke wulf

_Disclaimer: I don't own them. I'm not making any money from them._

Written for heeroluva for her winning bid for the Australian Flood Relief auction over at WaltzMatildah. She asked for a Bruce/Tony fic with Bruce confronting Tony about his bad behavior during Iron Man 2. Hope it's what you had in mind.

This takes place during the Iron Man 2 movie, after Tony's discussion with Colonel Fury but before he starts going through his Dad's stuff.

_**

* * *

**_

_**You have one new voice message and three saved messages.**_

_**New message**_

_"I'm not going to discuss that fiasco of monumental stupidity that was your birthday party. I'm sure Pepper and Rhodes have done a more than adequate job of taking you to task for that piece of insanity._

_"No, what we're going to talk about is something else entirely._

_"Did you really think I wouldn't eventually figure it out, Tony? You should know better by now._

_"Palladium. Quite an interesting element. The least dense of all the platinum group metals – it also has the lowest melting point. It can absorb up to nine hundred times its own volume of hydrogen. Its most common use is in catalytic converters. It's also used in electronics, hydrogen purification, and fuel cells, among other technologies._

_"And oh, yes – it's also the core for the arc reactor currently keeping you alive. Unfortunately, it also happens to be poisoning you at the same time._

_"I'll be in Malibu tonight. Don't even think of skipping town. Try a solution of lithium dioxide; it should help with some of your symptoms._

_"And for fuck's sake, try to stay out of trouble."_

_**Desired action?**_

"Save message."

_**Message saved**_

_**Saved Message**_

_"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by those little performances - the Expo, the hearing. You treat everything like it's a game. I don't understand how you can still act like that, even now. Dammit, Tony! I thought that you would finally… *sigh*… never mind. Just… never mind._

_"I called to let you know I'll be late arriving to the Expo. Something's come up here in Gotham that I need to take care of. As you're apparently planning on spending the next year celebrating your own ego, I'm confident my delayed appearance won't bother you unduly. I doubt you'll have any trouble finding someone else to keep you company."_

_**Desired action?**_

"Save message."

_**Message Saved**_

_**Saved Message**_

_"What the hell were you thinking? Granted, of the two of you Pepper is definitely the more adept at the day-to-day running of Stark Industries, but throwing her to the wolves like that? I don't think you prepared her, and I know you sure as hell didn't prepare the press. They're having a field day, and apparently you've completely abandoned her to deal with this fiasco all on her own!_

_"I thought you had more respect for her than that. I thought you had more respect for… a lot of people than that. After all the effort we put in to get your stock back up after that mess with Obadiah, now it's back in the toilet. Ours would be too, if Wayne Enterprises wasn't so diversified, what with the former CEO of our newest partner apparently losing his fucking mind!_

_"I'm putting my trip out there on indefinite hold. I need to help Lucius deal with this mess. I hear you're headed to Monaco, anyway. I'd tell you to have fun, but it seems that that's all you're interested in lately."_

_**Desired action?**_

"Save message."

_**Message Saved**_

_**Saved Message**_

_"Are you alright? Pepper tells me you didn't get seriously hurt by that bastard, but you've been known to keep important things form her in the past. I'd appreciate it if you could bother yourself to contact me… "The man who attacked you is Ivan Vanko. His father, Anton Vanko, worked with yours until he was deported back to the Soviet Union for espionage."Ivan's definitely his father's son. Also a physicist. He spent fifteen years in prison for selling weapons grade plutonium to Pakistan._

_"I'm working on getting you more information. In spite of what they'd like you to believe, Vanko wasn't killed trying to escape prison. The body left behind was definitively not his. He's alive, and he's free, and he's more than likely still coming after you. He must have a partner, but nothing I've turned up so far gives any indication as to who that might be._

_"What have you been able to find out? It doesn't make any sense for us to duplicate efforts…_

_"Would you just fucking contact me already! I'm… concerned. You know I… dammit, Tony! Why won't you pick up my fucking calls? This is getting ridiculous! What the hell are you trying to hide?_

_"Whatever it is, I'll find it out eventually. You know I will._

_"Call me."_

_**Desired action?**_

"Save message."

_**Message Saved**_

* * *

Slumped at the desk in his workshop, Tony sighed as Jarvis played through all the messages Bruce had left in recent days, the most recent one coming sometime while he had been busy dealing with Fury. He didn't really need to hear the others – he'd already listened to them all multiple times – but it helped soothe his loneliness, self-inflicted though it might be, to hear the concern in Bruce's voice.

"Well, at least I know that you actually got my messages."

"Shit!" Tony yelled, swiveling towards the unexpected voice. Movement in one shadowed corner of his lab drew his attention, and he swallowed nervously as Bruce Wayne stepped into the light.

"If you weren't dying, I would kick your fucking ass," he growled, moving towards Tony.

Tony unconsciously sat up straight in his chair, turning fully to face the other man. "Bruce. How did you get past my darling little federal nannies?"

"Please," he scoffed, "don't be insulting."

"Isn't this a little risky? How are you going to explain Bruce Wayne managing to sneak in here without them knowing about it?"

Bruce gave an unconcerned shrug. "I'm just going to blame you."

"Typical."

Ignoring the scoffed reply, Bruce pierced Tony a forceful stare. "What's been going on in that warped brain of yours, Tony? You're acting insane. You've obviously been trying to push everyone out of your life. This isn't the time to take on the world on your own. Why have you refused to ask for help?"

"That's rich, coming from you."

Bruce's unimpressed countenance didn't change. "Enough prevaricating. Talk."

Sighing, Tony braced his elbows on his workstation and rubbed his face, leaving it hidden by his hands as he continued. "It's just… I'm tired, Bruce. I've been dealing with this all the best that I can, but it seems like all I do anymore is fuck up."

"That's because all you've been doing is feeling sorry for yourself," Bruce rebuked, laying a hand on the other man's shoulder and giving a firm squeeze. "_You_ couldn't find an answer to your problem, so of course that means there's no answer to be found. No use asking anyone else. It's not like you know anyone with connections to other large medical and/or technology-based companies.

Tony leaned back in his chair, laying his arms flat on the workstation but stubbornly refusing to look at Bruce. Instead, he kept his gaze focused on the display in front of him.

"Right, just come out to the world, 'hey everybody, I know I said how Iron Man was going to take care of you all and protect truth and justice and all that, but turns out I'm actually dying, and need your help instead.' I couldn't do that. Everybody would either hate me or pity me. Or try to use it against me."

Bruce moved behind Tony, bringing his other hand up and massaging the tight muscles at Tony's neck and shoulders. "I would never pity you. I don't think I could hate you anymore. And I'd only use the information against you if absolutely necessary."

"Don't ever change, Bruce," Tony snorted, amused at his lover's honesty. He raised his right hand up, laying it over Bruce's own. "But, you already have so much on your plate. Don't think I don't know how little sleep you get, how much all your duties weigh on you. I didn't want to be one more trouble added to your burden."

"Because you suddenly dying without warning would have been so much easier on me." Bruce's hands tightened almost painfully for one brief moment before he loosened them and continued his massage, dislodging Tony's hand in the process.

"Alright, I admit it. I was being selfish. I didn't know how to tell you! I had no fucking idea how to say, 'Guess what, Bruce. You know that arc reactor that's keeping me alive? Turns out it actually killing me!' Does that make you happy? Me admitting that I didn't want to have to stand in front of you and tell you that I'm dy…dying…"

"No," Bruce murmured, closing his eyes and leaning down to rest his forehead against the back of Tony's neck. "That doesn't make me happy at all, Tony. But you're can't… you're not allowed to just give up. You forced your way into my life. You refused to let me stay safe in my isolation. You made me _care_ again, damn you! You don't get to just give up and let yourself die anymore. When you're in trouble, I need to _know_ about it so I can at least try to help you. To find out you were in trouble only when you were… when it was too late to do anything about it would be much… harder… on me than being told the truth up front."

"I… I know. I'm sorry. I made a stupid decision. A lot of stupid decisions. In my defense, I'd like to point out that I have been under a lot of stress lately. Not even getting into being betrayed by a man I considered a close personal friend and mentor who in reality was arranging to have me killed, which started this whole mess. The very thing keeping me alive is slowly killing me. I've managed to alienate everyone who ever even thought of caring for me. My former best friend stole one of my Iron Man prototypes and turned it over to a rival company. I've got the whole damn world breathing down my neck because they don't like how I'm acting. My bitch of an assistant turned out to be a double agent. Did I mention the whole dying thing? Some one-eyed nut job is after me to join up with his band of merry men. The same asshole also insists that my father actually had a solution to my current life expectancy problem and left a trail of breadcrumbs to help me get a clue from beyond the grave, so all I need to do is perform a séance and commune with his damn ghost! And by the way, in spite of everything the bastard ever told me or insinuated while he was alive, surprise, he actually loved me! And, of course, let's not forget that I AM FUCKING DYING!"

In the middle of his rant Tony jerked himself out of Bruce's hold and threw himself out of his chair, maniacally pacing as his arms violently emphasized his words. When he finished he turned to glare at Bruce, his eyes meeting clear blue eyes filled with concern, and yet also strangely determined.

"We're going to figure this out, Tony," Bruce insisted, slowly moving towards the other man until he could draw him into his arms. "You're not alone. You have all of Wayne Enterprises at your disposal. You have _me_ at your disposal. I'll do whatever it takes. We _will not_ fail."

Tony just clung to Bruce, letting someone else be his strength for one glorious moment, letting himself believe that they would actually find some way to keep him from dying.

Bruce meanwhile tightened the embrace, relishing in the fact that he could still hold Tony, that it wasn't yet too late. There was still time to save him. And he would save him. He would not lose Tony. It was not an option.

With one last squeeze, Bruce released Tony. Gently cupping the other man's face between his hands, Bruce softly kissed him, lingering for several heartbeats as he braced himself for the near future.

When he eventually pulled away he rested his forehead against Tony's, throwing all the confidence and assurance he could muster into his gaze. "We'll do this, Tony. I promise."

Bruce refused to look away, refused to so much as blink, until finally – finally! – Tony nodded his head. Only once, and it was clear that he still had his doubts, but it was a start. And Bruce could be determined enough for the both of them until Tony was able to really believe.

Pulling away, he grabbed Tony's hand and led him back towards the workstation.

"Now, let's go see what you're Father has to say."


End file.
